Cooling and noise-reduction apparatus

ABSTRACT

A cooling and noise-reduction apparatus for a computing device disposable within a structure having a central air conditioning system is provided. The computing device includes a heat generating component, an enclosure having first and second inlets, a fan configured to drive coolant from the first inlet to the heat generating component, a vent operably interposed between the second inlet and the heat generating component and a controller coupled to the fan and the vent to respectively control operations thereof. The cooling and noise-reduction apparatus includes a ducting element configured to flexibly and fluidly couple the second inlet with the central air conditioning system.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a cooling and noise-reduction apparatusand, more particularly, to a cooling and noise-reduction apparatus for acomputing device disposable within a structure having a central airconditioning system.

In office environments, for example, desktop and laptop personalcomputers (PCs) generally include heat generating components, such ascentral processing units (CPUs). These heat generating componentsgenerate heat as they operate and tend to operate less efficiently asthey become hotter and hotter. Thus, they need to be cooled by one ofmore fans installed in the local device. A desktop PC typically has twofans: one for the power supply and one for the processor. Many modernsdesktop PCs have a third fan on the graphics card. Laptop PCs can beconfigured similarly.

These numerous fans all require power and all generate noise and thisnoise tends to increase with time as dust and/or dirt builds up on thefans and the associated ductwork. In addition, since the fans areconstantly blowing air over oftentimes sensitive components and this airoften contains numerous particles that can stick to component surfaces,a buildup of material can occur on the component surfaces. Over time,this can lead to computational errors and failures.

One solution to the noise problem has been to install larger, quieterfans. These larger, quieter fans often suffer from increased powerdemands and dust buildup, however. A solution to the dust buildupproblem is to install filters on the fan, but this generally causes thefans to have to speed up to compensate and the filters eventually cloganyway. To reduce the power needs without larger fan installation,variable speed fans can be used. These fans can reduce noise output butcan unfortunately become disadvantageous when the associated computer isin a high power mode and the fans need to operate at full output.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the invention, a cooling and noise-reductionapparatus for a computing device disposable within a structure having acentral air conditioning system is provided. The computing deviceincludes a heat generating component, an enclosure having first andsecond inlets, a fan configured to drive coolant from the first inlet tothe heat generating component, a vent operably interposed between thesecond inlet and the heat generating component and a controller coupledto the fan and the vent to respectively control operations thereof. Thecooling and noise-reduction apparatus includes a ducting elementconfigured to flexibly and fluidly couple the second inlet with thecentral air conditioning system.

According to another aspect of the invention, a cooling andnoise-reduction apparatus is provided and includes a central airconditioning system, a plurality of computing devices each including aheat generating component, an enclosure having first and second inlets,a fan configured to drive coolant from the first inlet to the heatgenerating component, a vent operably interposed between the secondinlet and the heat generating component and a controller coupled to thefan and the vent to respectively control operations thereof and aplurality of ducting elements each being configured to flexibly andfluidly couple the respective second inlets of each of the plurality ofcomputing devices with the central air conditioning system.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a cooling andnoise-reduction method for use with a computing device disposable withina structure having a central air conditioning system is provided. Thecomputing device includes a heat generating component, an enclosurehaving first and second inlets, a fan configured to drive coolant fromthe first inlet to the heat generating component, a vent operablyinterposed between the second inlet and the heat generating componentand a controller coupled to the fan and the vent to respectively controloperations thereof. The method includes maintaining the fan and the ventin on and open conditions, respectively, during a startup state,maintaining the fan and the vent in off and open conditions,respectively, during an active condition and maintaining the fan in theon condition during a vent fail condition.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniquesof the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the inventionare described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimedinvention. For a better understanding of the invention with theadvantages and the features, refer to the description and to thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion ofthe specification. The forgoing and other features, and advantages ofthe invention are apparent from the following detailed description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a structure having a central airconditioning system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a computing device disposablewithin the structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a corrugated duct in accordance withembodiments;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of an enlarged portion of the computingdevice of FIG. 2 in accordance with alternative embodiments; and

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an operation of a cooling andnoise-reduction system for use with the computing device of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

By ducting central air along with power and networking data to desktopand/or laptop personal computers (PCs), the air provided to the PCs maybe filtered centrally so that dust buildup at the PCs can besubstantially reduced. Meanwhile, with the central air being provided byway of central fans, power consumption can be reduced as central fanstend to operate more efficiently than the sum of the local PC fans.Also, since the central fans are geographically remote from users, noisemay be substantially decreased.

The above-noted improvements can be achieved by ducting existingair-conditioning systems to desktop PCs and deactivating the local fansat certain predefined times. If a separate system is needed, existingducts used for both power and networking, which are present in mostcases, could be used. For applications to laptop computers, a dockingstation with an air-duct attachment may be provided to cool the laptopwhile docked and letting the laptop rely on the local fans when intransit. For applications in a server environment, ducting to individualservers may remove the need to condition an entire server room.

With reference now to FIG. 1, a structure 10 is provided. The structure10 may be any structural element including, but not limited to, abuilding, an office building, a residence, etc. Among other features,the structure 10 includes one or more interior spaces 11 and a centralair conditioning system 20. The central air conditioning system 20includes an air conditioning unit 21, which may be disposed within oroutside of the one or more interior spaces 11, a blower 22 and a mainconduit 23. The air conditioning unit 21 is configured to generatecooling or heating air and the blower 22 is configured to drive this airas an air flow through the main conduit 23 toward the one or moreinterior spaces 11.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of computing devices 30 may be disposedwithin the one or more interior spaces 11. The plurality of computingdevices 30 may include various types of computing devices such as, butnot limited to, one or more servers 31, one or more personal desktopcomputing devices 32 and one or more portable/laptop computing devices33. The one or more portable/laptop computing devices 33 may be dockablein one or more corresponding docking stations 330.

While each of the plurality of computing devices 30 may have a differentset of features and functionalities, each may have certain features incommon. For example, with reference to FIG. 2, each of the plurality ofcomputing devices 30 may include a heat generating component 40 thatrequires cooling during operations thereof, an enclosure 41 having afirst inlet 410 and a second inlet 411, a fan 42, a vent 43 and acontroller 44. The heat generating component 40 may include any type ofoperational electrical component such as, but not limited to, a motherboard, a central processing unit (CPU), etc. The fan 42 may beconfigured to drive, for example, coolant from the first inlet 410toward the heat generating component 40. The vent 43 may be operablyinterposed between the second inlet 411 and the heat generatingcomponent 40. With the central air conditioning system 20 operational,the vent 43 may be opened such that the coolant is permitted to flowfrom the central air conditioning system 20 toward the heat generatingcomponent 40. The controller 44 may be operably coupled to the fan 42and the vent 43 to thereby respectively control operations of the fan 42and the vent 43. The enclosure 41 houses each of the above-mentionedcomponents in a manner that substantially reduces atmosphericcommunication between an exterior and an interior of the enclosure 41.

With reference to FIGS. 1-4, a plurality of ducting elements 50 are alsoprovided. Each of the plurality of ducting elements 50 may include aflexible tubular element 51 having a first end 510 and a second end 511opposite the first end 510. The flexible tubular element 51 may becoupled to the main conduit 23 at the first end 510 and may be coupledto a corresponding one of the plurality of computing devices 30 at thesecond end 511. In particular, the flexible tubular element 51 may becoupled to the second inlet 411 of the corresponding one of theplurality of computing devices 30 at the second end 511. In this way,each of the plurality of ducting elements 50 fluidly couples thecorresponding second inlets 411 with the central air conditioning system20. As such, air flow driven through the main conduit 23, such ascooling air flow, can be delivered to the corresponding second inlets411 for cooling of the corresponding heat generating component 40.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and, in accordance with embodiments, theflexible tubular element 51 may include a corrugated duct 510 thatpermits the flexible tubular element 51 to bend in one or more placesand to stretch over extended distances, if necessary. In this way, thecorresponding one of the computing devices 30 may be positioned andrepositioned to suit a user. Also, the flexible tubular element 51 mayinclude a neck portion 52 at the second end 511. The neck portion 52 canbe configured to tightly fit with a complementary connector 520 of theenclosure 41. Of course, it is to be understood that this is merelyexemplary and that the flexible tubular element 51 can be connected tothe enclosure 41 is various manners.

In accordance with further embodiments, it is to be understood that thefirst inlet 410 and the second inlet 411 may be provided as a singleinlet or as multiple co-axial inlets. In either case, the flexibletubular element 51 and the fan 42 may be provided along a commoncenter-line such that air flow provided through the ducting element 50passes through the fan 42 and/or the fan housing. In this case, theflexible tubular element 51 may be configured to be connectable with thefan and/or the fan housing.

Each controller 44 of each of the plurality of computing devices 30 mayinclude a fan control unit 440 and a vent control logic unit 441. Thefan control unit 440 is operably coupled to the corresponding fan 42 andis configured to control at least one or both of an on/off state of thecorresponding fan 42 and a rotational speed of the corresponding fan 42.The vent control logic unit 441 is operably coupled to the correspondingvent 43 and is configured to control an opening, a closing and/or a ventangle of the corresponding vent 43.

Although illustrated in FIG. 2 as being two separate units, it is to beunderstood that in some embodiments the fan control unit 440 and thevent control logic unit 441 reside as a single controller 44 that isoperated and/or controlled by the heat generating component 40. In thesecases, one or both of the fan control unit 440 and the vent controllogic unit 441 may be embodied as a computer readable medium havingexecutable instructions stored thereon for executing at least thecontrol methods described herein.

With reference to FIG. 5 and, in accordance with embodiments, eachcontroller 44 of the plurality of computing devices 30 is configured tooperate in at least three distinct modes. In a first mode, which may beassociated with a startup state of the corresponding computing device30, the controller 44 may be configured to maintain the correspondingfan 42 in an on condition and to maintain the corresponding vent 43 inan open condition. For the personal desktop computing devices 32, thestartup state may be preceded by a standard boot up procedure duringwhich the personal desktop computing devices 32 are disposed at leastinitially in an off condition, the corresponding fans 42 are disposed inan off condition and the corresponding vents 43 are closed. For thelaptop computing devices 33, the startup state may be preceded by adocking procedure during which the laptop computing devices 33 aredisposed at least initially in an on condition, the corresponding fans42 are disposed in an on condition and the corresponding vents 43 areclosed.

In a second mode, which may be associated with an active state of thecorresponding computing device 30 whereby the boot up procedures arecompleted and computational operations can be fully executed, thecontroller 44 may be configured to maintain the corresponding fan 42 inan off condition and to maintain the corresponding vent 43 in an opencondition. In this way, the heat generating component 40 may be cooled,for example, by the central air conditioning system 20 as necessary withthe fan 42 turned off. This should allow for less noise generation andlowered power requirements as the central air conditioning system 20 isremote and may operate more efficiently than the fan 42.

In a third mode, which may be associated with a vent failure wherebycooling air fails to flow through the vent 43, the controller 44 may beconfigured to maintain the corresponding fan 42 in the on condition suchthat the heat generating component 40 can be continually operated andcooled. A vent failure condition can be characterized as any conditionin which air flow does not or cannot flow through the vent 43. Thus,exemplary vent failures may be due to the vent 43 being broken orotherwise non-operative or due to the central air conditioning system 20being non-operative. In the latter case, this can occur if the structure10 is an office building and the user attempts to during a holidayduring which the central air conditioning system 20 is turned off. Inthis case, the controller 44 can close the vent 43 to prevent outflow ofcoolant from an interior of the enclosure 41 and operate the fan 42normally to cool the heat generating component 40.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of onemore other features, integers, steps, operations, element components,and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

The flow diagrams depicted herein are just one example. There may bemany variations to this diagram or the steps (or operations) describedtherein without departing from the spirit of the invention. Forinstance, the steps may be performed in a differing order or steps maybe added, deleted or modified. All of these variations are considered apart of the claimed invention.

While the preferred embodiment to the invention had been described, itwill be understood that those skilled in the art, both now and in thefuture, may make various improvements and enhancements which fall withinthe scope of the claims which follow. These claims should be construedto maintain the proper protection for the invention first described.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cooling and noise-reduction apparatus for acomputing device disposable within a structure having a central airconditioning system, the computing device comprising: a heat generatingcomponent; an enclosure having first and second inlets; a fan configuredto drive coolant from the first inlet to the heat generating component;a vent operably interposed between the second inlet and the heatgenerating component; and a controller coupled to the fan and the ventto respectively control operations thereof, wherein: the cooling andnoise-reduction apparatus comprises a ducting element configured toflexibly and fluidly couple the second inlet with the central airconditioning system.
 2. The cooling and noise-reduction apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises at leastone of a server, a desktop computing device and a portable computingdevice.
 3. The cooling and noise-reduction apparatus according to claim2, further comprising a docking station for the portable computingdevice.
 4. The cooling and noise-reduction apparatus according to claim1, wherein the heat generating component comprises at least one of amother board and a central processing unit.
 5. The cooling andnoise-reduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controllercomprises: a fan control unit operably coupled to the fan to control anon/off state and a rotational speed of the fan; and a vent control logicunit operably coupled to the vent to control an opening, a closing and avent angle of the vent.
 6. The cooling and noise-reduction apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to: maintainthe fan and the vent in on and open conditions, respectively, during astartup state, maintain the fan and the vent in off and open conditions,respectively, during an active condition, and maintain the fan in the oncondition during a vent fail condition.
 7. The cooling andnoise-reduction apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the controlleris further configured to close the vent during the vent fail condition.8. The cooling and noise-reduction apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the ducting element comprises a corrugated duct.
 9. A coolingand noise-reduction apparatus, comprising: a central air conditioningsystem; a plurality of computing devices each including a heatgenerating component, an enclosure having first and second inlets, a fanconfigured to drive coolant from the first inlet to the heat generatingcomponent, a vent operably interposed between the second inlet and theheat generating component and a controller coupled to the fan and thevent to respectively control operations thereof; and a plurality ofducting elements each being configured to flexibly and fluidly couplethe respective second inlets of each of the plurality of computingdevices with the central air conditioning system.
 10. The cooling andnoise-reduction apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the plurality ofcomputing devices comprises: one or more servers; one or more desktopcomputing devices; and one or more portable computing devices.
 11. Thecooling and noise-reduction apparatus according to claim 10, furthercomprising one or more docking stations for the one or more portablecomputing devices.
 12. The cooling and noise-reduction apparatusaccording to claim 9, wherein the heat generating component comprises atleast one of a mother board and a central processing unit.
 13. Thecooling and noise-reduction apparatus according to claim 9, wherein eachcontroller of the plurality of computing devices comprises: a fancontrol unit operably coupled to the corresponding fan to control anon/off state and a rotational speed of the corresponding fan; and a ventcontrol logic unit operably coupled to the corresponding vent to controlan opening, a closing and a vent angle of the corresponding vent. 14.The cooling and noise-reduction apparatus according to claim 9, whereineach controller of the plurality of computing devices is configured to:maintain the corresponding fan and the corresponding vent in on and openconditions, respectively, during a startup state, maintain thecorresponding fan and the corresponding vent in off and open conditions,respectively, during an active condition, and maintain the correspondingfan in the on condition during a vent fail condition.
 15. The coolingand noise-reduction apparatus according to claim 14, wherein eachcontroller of the plurality of computing devices is further configuredto close the vent during the vent fail condition.
 16. The cooling andnoise-reduction apparatus according to claim 9, wherein each of theplurality of ducting elements comprises a corrugated duct.
 17. A coolingand noise-reduction method for use with a computing device disposablewithin a structure having a central air conditioning system, thecomputing device comprising: a heat generating component; an enclosurehaving first and second inlets; a fan configured to drive coolant fromthe first inlet to the heat generating component; a vent operablyinterposed between the second inlet and the heat generating component;and a controller coupled to the fan and the vent to respectively controloperations thereof, the method comprising: maintaining the fan and thevent in on and open conditions, respectively, during a startup state;maintaining the fan and the vent in off and open conditions,respectively, during an active condition; and maintaining the fan in theon condition during a vent fail condition.
 18. The method according toclaim 17, further comprising booting the computing device to initiatethe startup state.
 19. The method according to claim 17, furthercomprising docking the computing device with a dock to initiate thestartup state.
 20. The method according to claim 17, further comprisingclosing the vent during the vent fail condition.